Mechanisms of Disease Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering disease terminology, patterns of disease, mechanisms of disease, pathogenic organisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, animals), and methods of prevention and control.

Pathology

The study of disease, including its cause and treatment.

Signs

Objective abnormalities of a disease that can be seen or measured by someone other than the patient, such as temperature or pressure.

Symptoms

Subjective abnormalities felt only by the patient, such as abdominal pain.

Syndrome

A collection of different signs and symptoms, usually with a common cause, that presents a clear picture of a disease.

Acute condition

A condition where signs and symptoms appear suddenly, persist for a short time, and then disappear.

Chronic condition

A condition that develops slowly and lasts for a long time.

Etiology

The study of all factors involved in causing a disease.

Idiopathic

Refers to diseases with undetermined causes.

Communicable

Refers to diseases that can be transmitted from one person to another.

Pathogenesis

The actual pattern of a disease’s development.

Epidemiology

The study of the occurrence, distribution, and transmission of a communicable disease.

Endemic disease

A disease that is native to a local region.

Epidemic

Occurs when a disease spreads to many individuals at the same time.

Pandemic

An epidemic that affects large geographic areas, such as the flu.

Pathophysiology

The organized study of the underlying physiological processes associated with a disease.

Genetic mechanisms

Disease mechanisms where altered or mutated genes cause abnormal protein production, leading to absent or abnormal function.

Pathogenic organisms

Parasites living within a body that cause harm to the host.

Autoimmunity

A mechanism of disease where the immune system attacks the body due to mistakes or overreaction of the immune response.

Degeneration

The non-age-related breaking apart of body tissues.

Viruses

Intracellular parasites consisting of a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) core surrounded by a protein coat.

Bacteria

Tiny, primitive cells without a nucleus that cause disease by secreting toxins, becoming intracellular parasites, or forming colonies.

Spores

Resistant forms of life produced by bacteria that can survive heat, chemicals, and dry conditions.

Aerobic

Bacteria that require oxygen for their function.

Anaerobic

Bacteria that require an absence of oxygen for their function.

Gram-positive

Bacteria that stain purple due to their wall compounds.

Gram-negative

Bacteria that stain red due to their wall compounds.

Bacilli

Rod-shaped bacteria that occur as single cells or in groups.

Cocci

Round-shaped bacteria that occur as single cells or in groups.

Spirilli

Bacteria that are curved or spiral-shaped.

Micrometer

A unit equal to one-millionth of a meter; medically important bacteria range from $0.5\,\mu m$ to more than $5\,\mu m$.

Fungi

Simple organisms similar to plants but without chlorophyll; pathogenic varieties must parasitize other organisms.

Yeasts

Small, single-celled fungi.

Molds

Large, multi-cellular fungi.

Protozoa

One-celled protists larger than bacteria with DNA organized into a nucleus.

Amoebas

Large protozoan cells of changing shape that extend their membranes to form pseudopodia.

Flagellates

Protozoa that move by wiggling flagella.

Ciliates

Protozoa characterized by having many cilia.

Sporozoa

Protozoa that enter host cells, move between two hosts, and may have two life stages.

Nematodes

Pathogenic animals also known as roundworms, often transmitted by food or biting flies.

Platyhelminths

Pathogenic animals also known as flatworms.

Arthropods

Organisms such as mites, ticks, lice, fleas, wasps, mosquitoes, and spiders; often act as disease vectors.

Vector

An arthropod or rodent that acts as a carrier of a pathogenic organism.

Aseptic technique

The process of killing or disabling pathogens on surfaces to prevent person-to-person contact transmission.

Sterilization

The destruction of all living organisms.

Disinfection

The destruction of most organisms.

Antisepsis

The inhibition or inactivation of pathogens.

Isolation

The separation of potential carriers of a disease.

Opportunistic invasion

When potentially pathogenic organisms on the skin or mucous membranes do not cause disease until proper conditions for growth and reproduction occur.

Vaccine

A killed or attenuated (weakened) pathogen given to stimulate immunity and develop resistance via memory cells.

Antibiotics

Compounds, such as penicillin or streptomycin, that kill or inhibit pathogens.

Antiviral

Drugs that inhibit viral reproduction to slow the progression of viral diseases, such as acyclovir for herpes or azidothymidine for AIDS.